TechBBN TECH

Laika has spent 20 years building up to Wildwood

Wildwood is Laika's sixth stop-motion feature and the longest ever made, and its blue coat alone needed forty-four copies; the shortcuts stayed home.

On air: Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock on BBN Tonight
Published 6:40 PM ET, Sunday, October 25, 2026

At a glance

First reported by The Verge: “Laika has spent 20 years building up to Wildwood”, with reporting from Smithsonian Magazine, Forbes and 80.lv.
Covered on BBN on Sunday, October 25, 2026, at 6:40 PM ET on BBN Tonight, by Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock.

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

The VergeLaika has spent 20 years building up to Wildwood
Smithsonian Magazine'Wildwood' Is the Longest Stop-Motion Animated Film Ever. Each Frame of the Movie Is a Marvel of Handcrafted World Building facts used on air
Forbes‘Wildwood’ Filmmakers Detail The Long Road To Laika’s New Stop-Motion Film October 23, 2026 · facts used on air
80.lvLAIKA's Stop-Motion Film Wildwood Debuts with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes facts used on air

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorLaika's new stop-motion film, Wildwood, runs two hours and twelve minutes, which makes it the longest stop-motion feature ever made, the Smithsonian says.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSixteen years to make, six of them shooting. We prefer to call the other ten anticipation.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe writer started the script fourteen years ago. The film has a hundred percent on Rotten Tomatoes after premiering at the London Film Festival.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorA hundred percent. That's what patience looks like when it's fully booked.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIt's based on a twenty eleven novel, and it's Laika's first PG-thirteen film. Nobody said what the thirteen is for.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorMature themes, Hank. Think of it as a film that's finally old enough to be left alone with the coat budget.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe coat budget is a real thing. The lead character wears a blue coat, and the costume team made forty-four copies, plus spare parts.
Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorForty-four coats?
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorLaika also says it will never use artificial intelligence, because everything is built and posed frame by frame by humans.
Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorForty-four coats, sixteen years, and they will never use a shortcut. Or a spare afternoon.